Lonely Planet founder looks at ‘Dark Lands’

By BETH J. HARPAZ
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Published: August 31, 2013;Last modified: August 31, 2013 05:00AM

NEW YORK — Tony Wheeler wrote his first travel book with his wife Maureen in 1973 after driving across Europe and Asia. It sold 1,500 copies in a week and launched a guidebook empire called Lonely Planet.

The Wheelers made a fortune when the BBC bought the company in 2007 before the recession, but the BBC sold the company earlier this year at a huge loss. Meanwhile Wheeler, 66, is still doing what he built the brand on: traveling the world and writing about it.

His newest book, “Dark Lands,” recounts his recent adventures in countries troubled by ethnic strife, drug wars, colonial history and fiscal ruin. His itinerary included Colombia, where he was mugged; Congo, where he was arrested for taking a photo; the Palestinian territories, where kids pelted him with stones; and Pakistan, where he visited the site of Osama bin Laden’s assassination.

He also visited Haiti, Zimbabwe, Papua New Guinea and Nauru, a Polynesian island where the locals got rich mining guano (bird-poop fertilizer) then squandered their wealth on an airline and other extravagances.

“Dark Lands” is a follow-up to Wheeler’s 2007 book, “Bad Lands,” which was about visiting “Axis of Evil” countries Iran, Iraq, North Korea, and other notorious spots. In a phone interview, Wheeler talked about “Dark Lands” and Lonely Planet.

Q: You were mugged, arrested and pelted with stones on this trip. Do those count as highlights?

A: They do count in a way. But I’d also say climbing up the Nyiragongo volcano in Congo was a highlight. It was like a children’s picture book of what a volcano should be. Smoke, dust, a big empty muddy hole, lava bubbling up. It was noisy; it smelt. It was perfect.

Also going into the jungle in Papua New Guinea to get to Admiral Yamamoto’s aircraft. (Isoroku Yamamoto masterminded the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor; his aircraft was shot down in 1943.)

Q: Would any of the countries in “Dark Lands” work for a conventional vacation?

A: All of those countries have trouble. Some you cannot see an easy solution, others, well, things are getting better. The best example is Colombia. On most measures, Colombia is doing far better (with the decline of drug violence) than it was a couple of years ago. It has a lot of attractions. People say it’s the best Spanish colonial architecture in South America, and Cartagena is one of the most beautiful cities. OK, I got mugged, but you can get mugged anywhere.

Q: Many places that were once off-the-beaten path have become overrun, and sometimes Lonely Planet recommendations contributed to that. How was this trip different?

A: You go back to places you really loved when you went there, that were sort of empty, and now everybody knows them. I think of Bali: Now everybody’s got an “I’ve been to Bali” T-shirt. But with “Dark Lands,” I showed that you can still go to places where people are having amazing adventures. The Congo, for example, I only met a half-dozen tourists the whole time I was there and all of them were writing a book about it.

Q: How do you feel about the changes at Lonely Planet? Even before you sold LP, the brand had begun to shed its backpacker-budget image with more upscale guides.

A: People say, “Oh, that’s the shoestring budget, backpackers’ young people guide” — but we’re not that anymore. I’m OK with it, but it’s partly in a way why we thought it was time for us to move out. They were doing a lot of things I could see the reasons for doing, but it’s not my first love.